Halftime Heat
by corneroffandom
Summary: After losing to Ciampa, Aleister is struggling.


Busy. Everything's been so busy lately. Takeover Phoenix, the Royal Rumble itself. Preparing as best as he can physically and emotionally for this, tonight. Half Time Heat, partnering with Velveteen Dream and Ricochet. Aleister Black sighs, forcing himself to sit up, hands hanging between his knees as he breathes in and out, tries to ignore the low buzzing in the back of his head. No time for that.

He turns to look at Dream, watching him sleep, peaceful and deep, for a few moments, before pulling himself out of bed and walking quietly to the bathroom, showering as quickly as he can, aware that Dream will be in for a good hour once he gets in here, fixing his hair up and whatever else he chooses to do to look his best for the event later. He gets out and stares at himself in the mirror, grimacing as he grips the sink. He's pale, exhausted looking. Sleep's not been easy to come by lately, all of the stress from losing to Ciampa _again,_ and trying to save Dream from himself in that ridiculous 3 on 1 situation he'd put himself in afterwards not helping in the slightest. At least his knee's close to 100% again in time for tonight. The only positive out of all of this.

When he leaves the room, Dream is awake, a sleepy kind of smile on his face as he leans in and lightly kisses Aleister good morning before disappearing into the bathroom to clean up as well. Aleister watches the door shut behind him, swallowing hard as he catches another glimpse of himself in yet another of Dream's many wall to wall mirrors. Turning his back on his own reflection, he pads into the kitchen to start coffee, greet Marla. Try to get this day started on something of an alright keel.

That evening, Dream and Ricochet are overly excited, Dream acting like he's the coach of a football team that needs a confidence boost and Ricochet buying into his eagerness, both of them yelling like a couple of children who have had too much sugar. He stares at them, wide eyed and disturbed, before walking resolutely past them to make his way to the ring, hearing them still yelling and being boisterous behind him.

The match is wild, it's intense, fast. Aleister continues moving, not allowing himself a minute to fall behind in the action, trying to prove himself worthy of being on _The Dream Team_, as Dream had called it earlier. The only breaks he gets is when he's knocked out on the floor outside of the ring or while waiting for a tag, eyes focused, intense. As it stands, Dream is the only one on the winning side of things recently after holding his own in the tournament to get a title opportunity of his choosing and Aleister feels both proud of him and bitter that he's probably lost his last chance at regaining the NXT title from Ciampa.

They win off of a combination of their moves, Dream getting the pin on Adam Cole, and Aleister stands guard over him, watching Ciampa and Gargano on the outside until he hears the bell ring, and joins the other in posing for the audience, moving over to talk to Dream, curling an arm around his shoulders while Dream rests his hand on Aleister's lower back, leaning in towards him. "Congratulations," he says quietly.

"It was our win, so right back at you," Dream responds, glancing over at him with a small smile before his brows furrow and he turns around upon realizing they're missing someone, Aleister following him over as they move to collect Ricochet, get him to stop posing on the turnbuckle already.

The three of them leave the ring and walk outside, needing some space, to cool off in the evening air, cameras following them to get a statement after their win. Aleister talks about NXT, and what it means to them, and how they're the future of it, then Dream chimes in with how no one entertains like NXT does, even Disney, and Ricochet... doesn't say much, but he agrees with them, and it's fine, the cameramen finally leave. After a few minutes of the three of them just standing around, taking it all in, Ricochet excuses himself to make a phone call, which leaves Aleister and Dream alone together for the first time since this morning.

Dream smiles at him, eyes twinkling in the soft lights surrounding Full Sail. "First time we got to partner together for television," he says. "It was fun."

"Yes, it was," Aleister agrees, the buzzing in the back of his mind growing louder all over again in response to things slowing down. He shakes his head, trying to ignore this, as Dream looks back towards the building. "I guess we should get out of here."

"Yes," he hums. "Do you want to shower?"

Aleister shakes his head. "Not right now, you can go ahead if you want to. I'll wait." They head inside, walk side by side to the locker room, and Dream collects a change of clothes, before pressing a quick kiss to the side of Aleister's face.

"I'll be back in a few."

Aleister nods, watching him leave. He tries to focus, fights to stay calm, he really does, but the longer he sits in the half-lit silence of the abandoned locker room, the louder his thoughts become, the worse things feel. The more insistent the static in his head becomes. _You will never be worth anything. Your fifteen minutes are already over. Time for guys like Dream, guys like Ricochet, to take your place. You're doomed to go to the main roster and become just another person to be ignored, never quite fitting in. Away from Dream, remembered as nothing more than the guy who'd been attacked in the parking lot and couldn't get back what he'd lost afterwards. _ On and on, and on, all of his doubts festering, until he feels like he wants to scream.

Dream gets out of the shower after quickly washing his hair and dries off while humming under his breath, getting dressed before returning to the locker room. He stops short in the doorway, frowning. The room's empty, there's absolutely no sign of Aleister or where he might have gone. "Oh come on," he grouses, tying the towel around his damp hair to keep it somewhat under control before turning on his heel and storming off to look for his wayward significant other.

It's never hard to find him, no matter what Aleister tries or where he goes, and Dream slips deeper into a shadowy hallway, keeping a close look out for him. His breath catches, just a little, when he finally spots him, Aleister just barely visible, sitting crosslegged on the floor, hands spread out over his knees. "Aleister," he whispers, kneeling down in front of him, fighting every urge to touch him, to put a hand on his arm. "Aleister..."

When Aleister's eyes open and locks with Dream's gaze, both men are startled, for very different reasons. "Dream," he swallows.

"What are you doing out here, babe?" he asks softly. "Thought you said you were gonna wait for me to get out."

"I tried. Everything was... too loud. Too... quiet. I don't know, nothing of it makes sense even in my own head."

Dream sits down across from him and waits. "Ok," he says softly. "Is there anything I can do to help you, or...?"

Aleister shakes his head, staring down at his hands. The words refuse to come easily and he bites his lip, looking away. Reflects again on how it had felt watching Dream win the tournament and how he'd reacted to it by helping Bate to his feet and hugging him, how it had stuck in Aleister's mind since then. "Dream," he murmurs. "I..." He loses his nerve again and Dream scoots forward, reaching out to touch his hand gently. He looks up and finds Dream staring at him with a soft, worried gaze, the sincerity there bolstering him just a little. "Could you..." Words failing him yet again, he presses his hand to the wall and forces himself to his feet, waiting until Dream stands up too.

"Could I what?" he asks, leaning into Aleister with a concerned frown.

Aleister exhales, squirming in his boots as he struggles to just _ask_. "Could you just... hold me...?"

Dream looks surprised, then nods. "Yeah," he says slowly. "Of course." He steps forward and tucks Aleister into his arms slowly, giving him a chance to pull away, and when he doesn't, Dream moves closer, one hand resting between Aleister's shoulder blades and the other cradling the back of his head, scratching Aleister's scalp gently. He rubs his back soothingly and Aleister breathes into his shoulder, wrapping his arms around Dream's waist and shuddering. "Ok?"

"Yeah, it- it's great," he says softly, holding onto Dream tightly. He can only think of a handful of times he's touched Dream outside of the bedroom, and the longer they stand here, the more he regrets it. There's this sense of safety, warmth and comfort while he's standing here in his arms, something he's never really felt in a long time, the anxious thoughts kept at bay for the first time since he lost to Ciampa, and he closes his eyes. "Thank you."

"You're welcome," Dream says, Aleister smiling just a little when he seems in no hurry to let go, to move away. Eventually, Aleister eases back and Dream stares down at him. "Are you ok?"

"Yeah," he sighs, not quite looking Dream in the eye as he brushes his hands down Dream's sides. "Thank you for that."

"You don't need to keep thanking me," Dream says with a weak laugh. "Hey. Hey." He cups Aleister's face and gently guides him up until he can look into his eyes again. "Any time you need anything, just ask. A hug, someone to meditate with... whatever you need. I'll do all I can to help you out, you know?"

Aleister exhales. "It's not easy for me, you know this. But I'll try."

Dream nods, rubbing his thumb over Aleister's lips. "I know, babe. I know. Today was good, though, right?"

"It was," he agrees, smiling as Dream leans in to kiss him, slow and lingering. "I'll shower back at the house, just let me get some clothes on and we can leave."

The house is quiet, dark, when they arrive back at it, and Dream sighs, checking the clock as he toes his shoes off. "Guess Marla chose to have an early night. Probably as bored of football as I am." He leans into Aleister and winks at him. "Go on, shower, and we'll figure out what we wanna do after that."

Aleister nods. "Alright. I won't be long."

Dream taps his hand, gaze easing down to Aleister's knee pointedly. "Take as long as you need. I'll just catch up on my phone while I wait. It's ok."

Aleister's breath hisses through his teeth and he cups Dream's face. "My knee is fine," he says, leaning in to kiss Dream.

"And I'm gonna make sure it stays that way," Dream says with a small smile before turning Aleister around and lightly pushing him down the hall towards the bathroom. "Now go on. I'll be waiting for you."

Aleister sighs but finally listens, disappearing into the bathroom while Dream spins his phone around between his fingers and drops down onto the bed, thumbing through his timeline as he listens to the shower turning on. _Mm, should've joined him,_ he thinks, scratching idly at his jaw. _Maybe next time._

Aleister feels better after standing under the hot spray for as long as he can tolerate it after washing up and shampooing his hair, exhaling and running the towel over the mirror, staring at himself. His thoughts are quiet, his reflection leaves him feeling nothing other than neutral, and he sighs, turning away from the mirror and heading back to the bedroom. He _almost _feels prepared to do whatever Dream might want to do tonight, even if it's something loud and obnoxiously social. "Dream, do you want to-?" He stops short in the doorway, blinking as he takes in Dream fast asleep across the bed, phone laying against his chest, the screen dark. "I guess Marla isn't the only one who wanted an early night after all," he says quietly, walking over and scooping the phone up to place it on the bedside table.

He pulls on some sweatpants and settles down on the bed next to Dream, moving carefully and quietly to get under the covers so as not to wake him up. He watches him for a few moments before rolling over onto his side, facing the wall, and closes his eyes. Sleep never comes easy, even on somewhat better nights like this, and he resigns himself to another restless night where he lays for hours and stares at nothing, trying not to bother Dream. He shudders a little, trying to bring back that feeling of warmth and comfort from earlier, his eyes refusing to close, when he hears a shifting noise from behind him, and he blinks slowly against the pillow as Dream presses against him, wrapping an arm around his midsection, fingers sprawling out over his sternum. Looking over his shoulder, he finds Dream squinting sleepily at him and exhales, some of the tension fading out of his muscles. "Dream?"

"This ok?" he asks groggily.

Aleister swallows, nods. "Yeah. It's... it's good." He reaches up and entangles his fingers with Dream's, squeezing his hand lightly. "Good night, Dream."

"G'night," he whispers back, pressing a soft kiss to Aleister's shoulder before settling in and falling back asleep as easily as breathing.

Aleister sighs, grimacing as he imagines how the night's going to go, his lack of sleep made even more frustrating by his inability to move away at all right now. He twitches, blinking slowly. He's comfortable and his wayward thoughts drift away until everything darkens around him and he jerks awake, gasping, just for Dream to stir against him and hug him tighter, chest flush against Aleister's back. "S'ok," he murmurs. "You're ok, babe."

Aleister exhales, an apology on the tip of his tongue, but he feels so warm and heavy that the words never quite come, not that it matters because he thinks Dream is asleep once more anyway, each breath gentle and slow against his neck, his heartbeat a soft rhythm against Aleister's spine. Aleister smiles and falls asleep between one breath and the next.


End file.
